Tsunami struck the world, wrecking the lives of millions. Even as relief operations and rehabilitation efforts went underway something deeply disturbing and shocking emerged. The most needy and the most deprived became systematically excluded. They included Dalits, tribals, minorities, women-headed families, children, and the aged.

The repetitive pattern of exclusion had become too worrisome to ignore, whether it was the Gujarat earthquake (2001) or the floods in Orissa (2001); they confirmed and reinforced the urgency for addressing the question of social exclusion and discrimination.